Buying hearing aids

How to prepare for a hearing test

Last update on Feb, 26, 2025

Dr. Thomas Tedeschi, Au.D.

Chief Audiology Officer, Miracle-Ear

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What is a hearing test?

A hearing test is an appointment in which a hearing care professional (HCP) will discuss your hearing health history with you, then inspect your ear canal and conduct a hearing evaluation (also called a hearing test). These evaluations, , generally include a hearing threshold test and speech discrimination test which are graphed onto a form called an audiogram. Sometimes your HCP will conduct additional tests, depending on what they find. Once the tests are done, your HCP will go over the results with you and discuss next steps.

Why should you get a hearing test?

As people age, many experience presbycusis, or age-related hearing loss. This gradual loss of hearing is often the motivation for going in for a hearing test. (That being said, since the hearing loss is gradual, many people wait years before addressing their symptoms.) If you’re often asking people to repeat themselves, turning up the TV volume louder and louder, or struggling to hear everyday noises like your alarm clock or the turn signal in your car, it might be time for a professional hearing test. Other reasons for getting a hearing test include:

A sudden loss of hearing in one or both ears
Persistent tinnitus (ringing in the ears) symptoms
An annual test as part of a preventive care routine

Miracle-Ear audiologist and an elderly man with headphones during a hearing test

What types of hearing tests are there?

There are several different types of ear tests, or hearing tests, and your HCP may order some or all of these, depending on your situation.

Remember getting your hearing tested in elementary school? You’d put on a pair of headphones and raise your hand whenever you heard a beep. This is what’s known as a pure-tone audiometry test, also called air conduction testing. This type of test helps identify the quietest sounds you can hear at various frequencies. Pure-tone audiometry is the primary component of an audiogram; you’ll be seated in a sound treated booth, fitted with headphones or insert earphones through which you’ll hear different tones, and will press a button every time you hear a beep.

Speech testing measures how well you listen to and can repeat words, measuring speech comprehension and clarity. While you’re still in the sound treated booth after your pure-tone audiometry, the HCP will say words through the headphones and ask you to repeat them, noting the softest speech you can hear and repeat.

Bone conduction testing is a type of hearing test that’s often performed in addition to an audiogram to help assess where within the ear the hearing loss is occurring. This type of test can measure how well sound travels through the bones of the skull and ear into the inner ear; this can help identify whether there’s a blockage in the outer or middle ear, such as wax or fluid buildup. Your HCP will place a bone oscillator, or bone conduction transducer, onto your skull. Using this device, they’ll play sounds at different frequencies and volumes through the bone oscillator, and you’ll indicate when you can hear the sounds.

Tympanometry is a test for the middle ear that measures how well the eardrum moves. For this test, your HCP will place probes in each ear and a small, attached device will push air into your ear. The result is called a tympanogram, which is measured on a graph and shows whether your eardrum moves correctly. It can also identify if there’s a hole in the eardrum or help your HCP know if you’re experiencing fluid or wax buildup.

Auditory brainstem response testing, or ABR, measures how well the cochlea in the inner ear, as well as the ear-to-brain pathways, are working. This test is most often used to assess hearing loss in babies and toddlers, since they can’t complete a typical hearing test. An HCP will attach electrodes to the head of the person being tested, which record brain wave activity in response to various sounds heard through headphones.

Similarly to an ABR test, otoacoustic emissions, or an OAE test, measures how well the cochlea works, and is often used as part of newborn hearing screenings. HCPs place a small probe in the ear, which transmits sounds into the inner ear, then measures the sounds that come back. This test can detect if there’s an issue in the outer, middle, or inner ear, since no vibrations will return to the probe.

What happens during a hearing test?

The hearing test process is fairly straightforward, and your appointment will last about 60 minutes. When you get to your hearing test appointment, there are a few steps you can expect:

Your HCP will discuss your complete hearing health history with you.
You’ll have your ear canal inspected with an otoscope, checking for earwax buildup or eardrum damage.
Your HCP will conduct an audiogram, which will include a hearing threshold test, or pure-tone audiometry, as well as a speech discrimination test.
Depending on your particular situation, your HCP may also conduct additional hearing tests, like a bone-conduction test or a tympanometry test.
You’ll then discuss your results with your HCP and get recommendations for next steps.

How to prepare for your hearing test

Homework for your hearing evaluation? It’s not as crazy as it sounds. Any time you have your hearing tested, and especially during your first evaluation, your HCP will have plenty of questions for you, and the better prepared you are to answer them, the more likely you'll be to find a hearing solution that truly meets your needs. Hearing test preparation is easy, and it helps you get the most out of your appointment. Here’s what to do:

Document your hearing history

Take a few minutes to jot down your hearing symptoms and when you notice them. This will help shed light on how hearing loss is affecting your life. Answering the following questions can help map out your hearing history:

When and where do you struggle to hear or follow conversations—in restaurants, at home, on the golf course, or when talking on the phone?
Have loved ones said anything about your hearing? Do they ever comment on how loud you have the TV volume?
Have you ever been regularly exposed to excessive noise?
Do you notice ringing in your ears? Is it just in one ear or both?
How long have you had these symptoms?
Do you have any family history of hearing loss?
Have you ever worn hearing aids or assistive hearing devices in the past?
What medications are you taking?
How often do you use aspirin or other medications for pain relief?

As hearing loss quite often runs in families, your HCP may ask you about any family history of hearing loss or impairment. If you don’t know this information offhand, talk to other family members before your appointment to learn who in your family has experienced hearing loss. If possible, try to find out when and how the loss began.

Make a list of general health information

Taking a general health history is basic practice during almost any medical appointment. It’s especially relevant during a hearing evaluation as some conditions, such as chronic ear infections, head injuries or even some medical conditions (e.g. heart disease or thyroid conditions), can affect hearing. So, ahead of your hearing evaluation, make a list of your general health information, including:

Supplements and prescription medications you take
Diagnosed health conditions
Past surgeries or major illnesses and
Medical devices you use

It’s important to talk to your HCP about any significant health issues or current medications, even if they may not seem related in an obvious way to your hearing.

Write down your questions

It’s also important to write down any questions you have, so you don’t forget to ask them on the day of your appointment. You might have questions about your symptoms—Is this normal? Why are there only certain sounds I can’t hear? What’s that ringing noise that no one else notices?

Or perhaps you have questions about treatment options—Do I need hearing aids? What styles of hearing aids are there? What kind of extra features do they have?

All of these are great questions to ask your HCP during your appointment. And writing down questions ahead of time ensures that all of them get answered at your appointment.

woman having ears examined at doctors office

Your hearing needs are unique

Prescription hearing aids aren’t one-size-fits-all — and that’s the point. Working with a certified hearing care professional means you’ll get personalized guidance, a precise fitting, and ongoing support to help you hear your best. Speak with an expert today to take the first step toward better hearing.

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Invite a support person

Inviting a support person – a family member or friend, to join your appointment is particularly helpful. In addition to having a familiar voice to help with the hearing evaluation, they’ll help ease your nerves. It’s also good to have someone on hand who knows you—and your hearing—well enough to offer insights. You’ll also get a lot of information at your appointment, so your support person can help keep track and even take notes so you don’t miss or forget a thing.

Make a transportation plan

Finally, make a transportation plan before the day of your appointment, so you aren’t left scrambling figuring out how you’ll get there or how long it will take to drive to the appointment.

If you’re driving yourself or taking public transportation, map your route ahead of time.
If you’re using a rideshare app or a senior transportation service, schedule a pickup on the day of your appointment to ensure that you get there on time.
If someone is coming to the appointment with you, ask for a ride so the two of you can carpool and discuss the experience before and after your appointment.

Hearing test results and follow-up

While looking at all the charts and graphs that help identify hearing loss might seem overwhelming, know that your HCP will interpret all the results with you. They’ll explain what each test result means and how it can be addressed. By analyzing these results, they can also make recommendations on next steps, including whether you need hearing aids and, if so, which options would work well for your hearing loss and lifestyle.

You’ll get your hearing test results right away, and your HCP will explain all the results to you during your appointment.

Your HCP can interpret all the hearing test results for you—whether they indicate high-frequency hearing loss, conductive hearing loss, sensorineural hearing loss, a middle ear blockage or more. While some types of hearing loss can only be addressed by the use of hearing aids, other types—like those a result of a minor injury or infection—may improve on their own over time.

If hearing issues are detected and hearing aids are an appropriate treatment option, your HCP will have you try on different types and styles of hearing aids so you can experience the difference they can make first-hand.

The right solution for you

We’ll carefully explain and show you the specific models of Miracle-Ear hearing aids that might fit your lifestyle and level of hearing loss. Then, if you still wish to proceed, we can even begin the fitting process for your new hearing aids so you can begin hearing better every day.

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FAQs about hearing tests

Hearing tests generally last about 60 minutes, which includes the testing itself and going over the results with a certified Hearing Care Professional.

As you age, and especially if you get hearing aids, it’s recommended to have annual hearing exams to test for any changes to your hearing each year.

A hearing test, as outlined earlier in this blog post, is a full examination of the outer, middle and inner ear that determines if there is any hearing loss or blockages, as well as what type of hearing loss is occurring. In contrast, a hearing screening is simply a quick pass/fail test. If you pass, it means you show no signs of hearing loss. If you fail, it indicates that a full hearing test is warranted.